Hans Christian Andersen: interesting facts from life and biography. Hans Christian Andersen

There are few people in the world who do not know the name of the great writer Hans Christian Andersen. More than one generation has grown up on the works of this master of the pen, whose works have been translated into 150 languages ​​of the world. In almost every home, parents read bedtime stories to their children about the Princess and the Pea, Spruce, and little Thumbelina, whom a field mouse tried to marry off to a greedy mole neighbor. Or children watch films and cartoons about the Little Mermaid or about the girl Gerda, who dreamed of rescuing Kai from the cold hands of the callous Snow Queen.

The world described by Andersen is amazing and beautiful. But along with magic and flights of fancy, his fairy tales contain philosophical thought, because the writer devoted his work to both children and adults. Many critics agree that under the guise of naivety and simple style Andersen's narrative lies deep meaning, whose task is to give the reader the necessary food for thought.

Childhood and youth

Hans Christian Andersen (generally accepted Russian spelling, Hans Christian would be more correct) was born on April 2, 1805 in the third largest city in Denmark, Odense. Some biographers assured that Andersen was the illegitimate son of the Danish king Christian VIII, but in fact the future writer grew up and was brought up in a poor family. His father, also named Hans, worked as a shoemaker and barely made ends meet, and his mother Anna Marie Andersdatter worked as a laundress and was an illiterate woman.

The head of the family believed that his ancestry began from a noble dynasty: the paternal grandmother told her grandson that their family belonged to a privileged social class, but these speculations were not confirmed and were challenged over time. There are many rumors about Andersen's relatives, which to this day excite the minds of readers. For example, they say that the grandfather of the writer - a carver by profession - was considered crazy in the town, because he made incomprehensible figures of people with wings, similar to angels, out of wood.

Hans Sr. introduced the child to literature. He read to the offspring "1001 nights" - traditional Arabian tales. Therefore, every evening, little Hans plunged into the magical stories of Scheherazade. Also, the father and son loved to take walks in the park in Odense and even visited the theater, which made an indelible impression on the boy. In 1816 the writer's father died.

The real world was a severe test for Hans, he grew up as an emotional, nervous and sensitive child. In such a state of mind of Andersen, the local bully, who simply distributes cuffs, and teachers are to blame, because in those troubled times punishment with rods was commonplace, therefore future writer He considered school an unbearable torture.

When Andersen flatly refused to attend classes, the parents assigned the young man to a charity school for poor children. Having received elementary education, Hans became an apprentice weaver, then retrained as a tailor, and later worked in a cigarette factory.

Andersen's relations with colleagues in the workshop, to put it mildly, did not work out. He was constantly embarrassed by vulgar anecdotes and narrow-minded jokes of workers, and one day, under the general laughter, Hans pulled down his pants to make sure he was a boy or a girl. And all because in childhood the writer had a thin voice and often sang during the shift. This event forced the future writer to completely withdraw into himself. The only friends of the young man were wooden dolls, once made by his father.

When Hans was 14 years old, in search of a better life he moved to Copenhagen, which was considered "Scandinavian Paris" at the time. Anna Marie thought that Andersen would leave for the capital of Denmark for a short time, so she let her beloved son go with with a light heart. Hans left Father's house, because he dreamed of becoming famous, he wanted to learn acting and play on the theater stage in classical productions. It is worth saying that Hans was a lanky young man with long nose and limbs, for which he received the offensive nicknames "stork" and "lamppost".

Andersen was also teased in childhood as a “playwriter”, because the boy’s house had a toy theater with rag “actors”. A diligent young man with a funny appearance gave the impression of an ugly duckling who was accepted into Royal Theater out of pity, and not because he was an excellent soprano. On the stage of the theater, Hans performed minor roles. But soon his voice began to break, so classmates, who considered Andersen primarily a poet, advised young man focus on literature.

Jonas Collin, a Danish statesman who was in charge of finance during the reign of Frederick VI, was very fond of a young man unlike everyone else and convinced the king to pay for the education of a young writer.

Andersen studied at the prestigious Slagels and Elsinore schools (where he sat at the same desk with students 6 years younger than himself) at the expense of the treasury, although he was not a diligent student: Hans never mastered the letter and made multiple spelling and punctuation errors all his life in a letter. Later, the storyteller recalled that he had nightmares about his student years, because the rector constantly criticized the young man to the nines, and, as you know, Andersen did not like this.

Literature

During his lifetime, Hans Christian Andersen wrote poetry, short stories, novels and ballads. But for all readers, his name is primarily associated with fairy tales - in track record masters of the pen 156 works. However, Hans disliked being called a children's writer and claimed to write for boys and girls as well as adults. It got to the point that Andersen ordered that there should not be a single child on his monument, although initially the monument was supposed to be surrounded by children.

Illustration for Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Ugly Duckling"

Hans gained recognition and fame in 1829, when he published the adventure story "Hiking from the Holmen canal to the eastern tip of Amager". Since then, the young writer has not left his pen and inkwell and wrote literary works one after another, including the fairy tales that glorified him, into which he introduced a system of high genres. True, novels, short stories and vaudevilles were given to the author hard - at the moments of writing, he seemed to be comprehended in spite of creative crisis.

Illustration for Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "Wild Swans"

Andersen drew inspiration from everyday life. In his opinion, everything in this world is beautiful: a flower petal, a small bug, and a spool of thread. Indeed, if we recall the works of the creator, then even each galosh or pea from a pod has amazing biography. Hans relied both on his own fantasy and on the motives folk epic, thanks to which he wrote "Flint", "Wild Swans", "Swineherd" and other stories published in the collection "Tales told to children" (1837).

Illustration for the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen "The Little Mermaid"

Andersen loved to make protagonists of characters who are looking for a place in society. This includes Thumbelina, the Little Mermaid, and the Ugly Duckling. Such characters make the author sympathetic. All Andersen's stories are soaked from cover to cover philosophical sense. It is worth recalling the fairy tale "The King's New Clothes", where the emperor asks two rogues to sew an expensive garment for him. However, the outfit turned out to be difficult and consisted entirely of "invisible threads". The crooks assured the customer that only fools would not see the extremely thin fabric. Thus, the king flaunts around the palace in an indecent form.

Illustration for the fairy tale "Thumbelina" by Hans Christian Andersen

He and his courtiers do not notice the intricate dress, but are afraid to make themselves look like fools if they admit that the ruler is walking around in what his mother gave birth to. This tale began to be interpreted as a parable, and the phrase "And the king is naked!" entered the list popular expressions. It is noteworthy that not all Andersen’s fairy tales are saturated with luck, not all of the writer’s manuscripts contain the “deusexmachina” technique, when a random coincidence that saves the protagonist (for example, the prince kisses the poisoned Snow White) seems to appear out of nowhere by God’s will.

Illustration for the fairy tale "The Princess and the Pea" by Hans Christian Andersen

Hans is loved by adult readers for not drawing a utopian world where everyone lives happily ever after, but, for example, without a twinge of conscience sends a steadfast tin soldier into a burning fireplace, dooming a lonely little man to death. In 1840, the master of the pen tried his hand at the genre of short stories and miniatures and published the collection "A Book with Pictures without Pictures", in 1849 he wrote the novel "Two Baronesses". Four years later, the book To Be or Not to Be was published, but all Andersen's attempts to establish himself as a novelist were in vain.

Personal life

The personal life of the failed actor, but the eminent writer Andersen is a mystery shrouded in darkness. Rumor has it that throughout the existence of the great writer remained in the dark about intimacy with women or with men. There is an assumption that the great storyteller was a latent homosexual (as evidenced by the epistolary heritage), he had close friendly relations with friends Edward Collin, the crown duke of Weimar and with the dancer Harald Schraff. Although there were three women in the life of Hans, the matter did not go beyond fleeting sympathy, not to mention marriage.

The first chosen one of Andersen was the sister of a school friend Riborg Voigt. But the indecisive young man did not dare to talk to the object of his desire. Louise Collin - the writer's next potential bride - stopped any attempts at courtship and ignored the fiery stream of love letters. The 18-year-old girl preferred Andersen to a wealthy lawyer.

In 1846, Hans fell in love with opera singer Jenny Lind, who was nicknamed the "Swedish nightingale" because of her sonorous soprano voice. Andersen guarded Jenny backstage and presented the beauty with poems and generous gifts. But the charming girl was in no hurry to reciprocate the storyteller's sympathy, but treated him like a brother. When Andersen found out that the singer had married British composer Otto Goldschmidt, Hans plunged into depression. cold hearted Jenny Lind became the prototype of the Snow Queen from fairy tale of the same name writer.

Illustration for Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Snow Queen"

Andersen was unlucky in love. Therefore, it is not surprising that the storyteller, upon arrival in Paris, visited the red light districts. True, instead of debauchery all night long with frivolous young ladies, Hans talked with them, sharing the details of his unhappy life. When an acquaintance of Andersen hinted to him that he was visiting brothels not intended, the writer was surprised and looked at the interlocutor with obvious disgust.

It is also known that Andersen was a devoted admirer, talented writers met at a literary meeting held by the Countess of Blessington in her salon. After this meeting, Hans wrote in his diary:

"We went out on the veranda, I was happy to talk to the living writer of England, whom I love most."

After 10 years, the storyteller again arrived in England and came as an uninvited guest to Dickens' house to the detriment of his family. As time passed, Charles ceased correspondence with Andersen, and the Dane sincerely did not understand why all his letters remained unanswered.

Death

In the spring of 1872, Andersen fell out of bed, hitting the floor hard, because of which he received multiple injuries from which he never recovered.

Later, the writer was diagnosed with liver cancer. On August 4, 1875 Hans died. great writer He was buried in the Assistance Cemetery in Copenhagen.

Bibliography

• 1829 - "Traveling on foot from the Holmen Canal to the eastern cape of the island of Amager"
• 1829 - "Love on the Nikolaev Tower"
• 1834 - "Agneta and Vodyanoy"
• 1835 - "Improviser" (Russian translation - in 1844)
• 1837 - "Only a violinist"
• 1835-1837 - "Tales told for children"
• 1838 - "The Steadfast Tin Soldier"
• 1840 - "A picture book without pictures"
• 1843 - The Nightingale
• 1843 - "The Ugly Duckling"
• 1844 - "The Snow Queen"
• 1845 - "Girl with matches"
• 1847 - "Shadow"
• 1849 - "Two Baronesses"
• 1857 - "To be or not to be"

Boring, empty and unpretentious life without fairy tales. Hans Christian Andersen understood this perfectly. Even if his character was not easy, but opening the door to another magic story, people did not pay attention to this, but with pleasure plunged into a new, previously unheard story.

Family

Hans Christian Andersen is a world famous Danish poet and novelist. He has more than 400 fairy tales on his account, which even today do not lose their popularity. The famous storyteller was born in Odnes (Danish-Norwegian Union, Funen Island) on April 2, 1805. He comes from a poor family. His father was a simple shoemaker, and his mother was a laundress. All her childhood she lived in poverty and begged on the street, and when she died, she was buried in a cemetery for the poor.

Hans' grandfather was a woodcarver, but in the city where he lived, he was considered slightly out of his mind. Being a creative person by nature, he carved figures of half-humans, half-animals with wings from wood, and such art was completely incomprehensible to many. Christian Andersen did not study well at school and wrote with errors until the end of his life, but from childhood he was attracted to writing.

Fantasy world

There is a legend in Denmark that Andersen came from a royal family. These rumors are related to the fact that the storyteller himself wrote in an early autobiography that he played as a child with Prince Frits, who years later became King Frederick VII. And among the yard boys he had no friends. But since Christian Andersen loved to compose, it is likely that this friendship was a figment of his imagination. Based on the storyteller's fantasies, his friendship with the prince continued even when they became adults. In addition to relatives, Hans was the only person from the outside, who was admitted to the coffin of the late monarch.

The source of these fantasies was Father Andersen's stories that he was a distant relative of the royal family. WITH early childhood the future writer was a great dreamer, and his imagination was truly violent. More than once or twice, he staged impromptu performances at home, played various skits and made adults laugh. His peers openly disliked him and often mocked him.

Difficulties

When Christian Andersen was 11 years old, his father died (1816). The boy had to earn his own living. He began to work as an apprentice at a weaver, and later worked as a tailor's assistant. Then it labor activity continued in a cigarette factory.

The boy had amazing big Blue eyes and closed nature. He liked to sit alone somewhere in the corner and play puppet show- your favorite game. This love for puppet shows he did not lose it even in adulthood, carrying it in his soul until the end of his days.

Christian Andersen was different from his peers. Sometimes it seemed as if in the body little boy there lives a quick-tempered "uncle" who does not put a finger in his mouth - he will bite off his elbow. He was too emotional and took everything too personally, because of which he was often subjected to physical punishment in schools. For these reasons, the mother had to send her son to a Jewish school, where various executions were not practiced on students. Thanks to this act, the writer was well aware of the traditions of the Jewish people and forever kept in touch with him. He even wrote several stories on Jewish topics, unfortunately, they were never translated into Russian.

Youth years

When Christian Andersen was 14 years old, he went to Copenhagen. The mother assumed that the son would soon return. In fact, he was still a child, and in such big city he had little chance of "hooking". But, leaving his father's house, the future writer confidently declared that he would become famous. Above all, he wanted to find a job that would please him. For example, in the theater, which he loved so much. He received money for the trip from a man in whose house he often staged impromptu performances.

The first year of life in the capital did not bring the storyteller one step closer to fulfilling his dream. One day he came to the house famous singer and began to beg her to help him with work in the theater. To get rid of a strange teenager, the lady made a promise that she would help him, but she did not keep her word. Only many years later, she confesses to him that, when she first saw him, she thought that he was devoid of reason.

At that time, the writer was a lanky, thin and stooped teenager, with an anxious and bad temper. He was afraid of everything: a possible robbery, dogs, fire, losing his passport. All his life he suffered from toothache and for some reason believed that the number of teeth affects his writing activity. He was also scared to death of being poisoned. When Scandinavian children sent sweets to their favorite storyteller, he sent a gift to his nieces in horror.

We can say that in adolescence, Hans Christian Andersen himself was an analogue ugly duckling. But he had a surprisingly pleasant voice, and whether thanks to him, or out of pity, he still got a place at the Royal Theater. True, he never achieved success. He constantly got supporting roles, and when the age-related breakdown of his voice began, he was completely kicked out of the troupe.

First works

But in short, Hans Christian Andersen was not very upset by the dismissal. At that time, he was already writing a play for five acts and sent a letter to the king asking for financial assistance in the publication of his work. In addition to the play, Hans Christian Andersen's book includes poetry. The writer did everything to sell his work. But neither the announcements nor the promotions in the newspapers led to the expected level of sales. The storyteller did not give up. He took the book to the theater in the hope that a performance would be staged based on his play. But here, too, disappointment awaited him.

Studies

The theater said that the writer had no professional experience, and offered him to study. People who sympathized with the unfortunate teenager sent a request to the King of Denmark himself, so that he would allow him to fill in the gaps in knowledge. His Majesty listened to the requests and provided the storyteller with the opportunity to get an education at the expense of the state treasury. As the biography of Hans Christian Andersen says, a sharp turn took place in his life: he got a place as a student at a school in the city of Slagels, later in Elsinore. Now the talented teenager did not have to think about how to earn a living. True, school science was given to him hard. He was criticized all the time by the rector educational institution Plus, Hans felt uncomfortable about being older than his classmates. The study ended in 1827, but the writer was never able to master the grammar, so he wrote with errors until the end of his life.

Creation

Considering a brief biography of Christian Andersen, it is worth paying attention to his work. The first ray of fame brought the writer fantasy story"Hiking from the Holmen Canal to the Eastern End of Amager". This work was published in 1833, and for it the writer received an award from the king himself. The cash reward enabled Andersen to make the trip abroad he had always dreamed of.

This was the start runway, the beginning of a new life stage. Hans Christian realized that he could prove himself in another field, and not just in the theater. He began to write, and wrote a lot. Various literary works, including the famous "Tales" by Hans Christian Andersen, flew out from under his pen like hot cakes. In 1840, he once again tried to conquer the theater stage, but the second attempt, like the first, did not bring the desired result. But in the writing craft, he was successful.

success and hate

The collection “A Book with Pictures without Pictures” is published in the world, 1838 was marked by the release of the second issue of “Fairy Tales”, and in 1845 the world saw the bestseller “Fairy Tales-3”. Step by step, Andersen became famous writer, it was talked about not only in Denmark, but also in Europe. In the summer of 1847 he visits England, where he is greeted with honors and triumph.

The writer continues to write novels and plays. He wants to become famous as a novelist and playwright, only fairy tales, which he quietly begins to hate, brought him true fame. Andersen no longer wants to write in this genre, but fairy tales appear from under his pen again and again. In 1872, on Christmas Eve, Andersen wrote his last tale. In the same year, he inadvertently fell out of bed and was seriously injured. He never recovered from his injuries, although he lived for another three years after the fall. The writer died on August 4, 1875 in Copenhagen.

The very first fairy tale

Not so long ago, researchers in Denmark discovered a fairy tale “The Tallow Candle” by Hans Christian Andersen, unknown until that time. Summary this find is simple: the tallow candle cannot find its place in this world and will become discouraged. But one day she meets a tinderbox that kindles a fire in her, to the delight of others.

In terms of its literary merits, this work is significantly inferior to fairy tales. late period creativity. It was written when Andersen was still at school. He dedicated the work to the priest's widow, Mrs. Bunkeflod. Thus, the young man tried to appease her and thank her for the fact that she paid for his unlucky science. The researchers agree that this work is filled with too much moralizing, there is no that gentle humor, but only morality and " soul feelings candles".

Personal life

Hans Christian Andersen never married and had no children. In general, he was not successful with women, and did not strive for this. However, he still had love. In 1840, in Copenhagen, he met a girl named Jenny Lind. Three years later he writes in his diary cherished words: "I love!" For her, he wrote fairy tales and dedicated poems to her. But Jenny, addressing him, said "brother" or "child." Although he was almost 40 years old, and she was only 26. In 1852, Lind married a young and promising pianist.

In his declining years, Andersen became even more extravagant: he often visited brothels and sat there for a long time, but never touched the girls who worked there, but only talked to them.

As is known, in Soviet time foreign writers often released in an abridged or revised version. This did not bypass the works of the Danish storyteller: instead of thick collections, thin collections were published in the USSR. Soviet writers any mention of God or religion should have been removed (if not, softened). Andersen does not have non-religious works, it's just that in some works it is immediately noticeable, while in others the theological overtones are hidden between the lines. For example, in one of his works there is a phrase:

Everything was in this house: both prosperity and swaggering gentlemen, but there was no owner in the house.

But in the original it is written that in the house there is not a master, but the Lord.

Or take for comparison snow queen» Hans Christian Andersen: The Soviet reader does not even suspect that when Gerda is scared, she starts to pray. It’s a little annoying that the words of the great writer were twisted, or even thrown out altogether. After all, the real value and depth of a work can be understood by studying it from the first word to the last point set by the author. And in the retelling, something fake, unspiritual and unreal is already felt.

A few facts

Finally, I would like to mention a few little known facts from the life of the author. The storyteller had Pushkin's autograph. "Elegy", signed by a Russian poet, is now in the Danish Royal Library. Andersen did not part with this work until the end of his days.

Every year on April 2, Children's Book Day is celebrated all over the world. In 1956, the International Council on Children's Books awarded the storyteller gold medal- the highest international award that can be received in modern literature.

Even during his lifetime, a monument was erected to Andersen, the project of which he personally approved. At first, the project depicted the writer sitting surrounded by children, but the storyteller was outraged: "I would not have been able to say a word in such an environment." Therefore, the children had to be removed. Now on the square in Copenhagen sits a storyteller with a book in his hand, all alone. Which, however, is not so far from the truth.

Andersen cannot be called the soul of the company, he could for a long time to be alone with himself, reluctantly made friends and seemed to live in a world that existed only in his head. No matter how cynical it may sound, but his soul was like a coffin - designed for only one person, for him. Studying the storyteller's biography, only one conclusion can be drawn: writing is a lonely profession. If you open this world to someone else, then fairy tale will turn into an ordinary, dry and stingy story on emotions.

"The Ugly Duckling", "The Little Mermaid", "The Snow Queen", "Thumbelina", "The King's New Dress", "The Princess and the Pea" and more than a dozen fairy tales gave the world the author's pen. But in each of them there is a lone hero (main or secondary - it does not matter), in which Andersen can be recognized. And this is right, because only a storyteller can open the door to that reality where the impossible becomes possible. If he had cut himself out of the story, it would have become a mere story with no right to exist.

Hans Christian Andersen is an outstanding Danish writer and poet, as well as an author of the world famous fairy tales for children and adults.

His pen belongs to such brilliant works, How " Ugly duck”,“ The King’s New Dress ”,“ Thumbelina ”,“ The Steadfast Tin Soldier ”,“ The Princess and the Pea ”,“ Ole Lukoye ”,“ The Snow Queen ”and many others.

Many animated and feature films have been shot based on Andersen's works.

In this we have collected the most Interesting Facts from the life of a great storyteller.

So in front of you short biography Hans Andersen.

Biography of Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen was born on April 2, 1805 in the Danish city of Odense. Hans was named after his father, who was a shoemaker.

His mother, Anna Marie Andersdatter, was a poorly educated girl who worked all her life as a laundress. The family lived very poorly and barely made ends meet.

An interesting fact is that Andersen's father sincerely believed that he belonged to a noble family, since his mother told him about this. In fact, everything was quite the opposite.

To date, biographers have established for sure that the Andersen family came from the lower class.

However, this social position did not prevent Hans Andersen from becoming a great writer. Love for the boy was instilled in his father, who often read him fairy tales from different authors.

In addition, he periodically went to the theater with his son, accustoming him to high art.

Childhood and youth

When the young man was 11 years old, trouble happened in his biography: his father died. Andersen took his loss very hard, and for a long time was in a depressed state.

Studying at school also became a real test for him. He, as well as other students, was often beaten with rods by teachers for the slightest violations. For this reason, he became a very nervous and vulnerable child.

Hans soon persuaded his mother to drop out of school. After that, he began attending a charity school attended by children from poor families.

Having received basic knowledge, the young man got a job as an apprentice at a weaver. After that, Hans Andersen sewed clothes, and later worked in a tobacco factory.

An interesting fact is that while working at the factory, he had practically no friends. His colleagues mocked him in every possible way, releasing sarcastic jokes in his direction.

Once, Andersen's pants were lowered in front of everyone in order to allegedly find out what gender he was. And all because he had a high and sonorous voice, similar to a woman's.

After this incident, hard days came in Andersen's biography: he finally withdrew into himself and stopped communicating with anyone. At that point in time, Hans' only friends were wooden dolls, which his father had made for him a long time ago.

At the age of 14, the young man went to Copenhagen, because he dreamed of fame and recognition. It is worth noting that he did not have an attractive appearance.

Hans Andersen was a thin teenager with long limbs and an equally long nose. However, despite this, he was accepted into the Royal Theater, in which he played supporting roles. It is interesting that during this period he began to write his first works.

When the financier Jonas Collin saw his play on stage, he fell in love with Andersen.

As a result, Collin convinced King Frederick VI of Denmark to pay for the education of a promising actor and writer from the state treasury. After that, Hans was able to study at the elite schools of Slagels and Elsinore.

It is curious that Andersen's fellow students were students who were 6 years younger than him in age. The most difficult subject for the future writer was grammar.

Andersen made a lot of spelling mistakes, for which he constantly heard reproaches from teachers.

Andersen's creative biography

Hans Christian Andersen is best known as children's writer. More than 150 fairy tales came out from his pen, many of which have become classics of world significance. In addition to fairy tales, Andersen wrote poetry, plays, short stories and even novels.

He didn't like being called a children's writer. Andersen has repeatedly stated that he writes not only for kids, but also for adults. He even ordered that there should not be a single child on his monument, although initially he was supposed to be surrounded by children.

Monument to Hans Christian Andersen in Copenhagen

It is worth noting that serious works, like novels and plays, were quite difficult for Andersen, but fairy tales were written surprisingly easily and simply. At the same time, he was inspired by any objects that were around him.

Andersen's works

Over the years of his biography, Andersen wrote many fairy tales in which one can trace. Among such fairy tales, one can single out "Flint", "Swineherd", "Wild Swans" and others.

In 1837 (when he was assassinated), Andersen published the collection Tales Told to Children. The collection immediately gained great popularity in society.

It is interesting that, despite the simplicity of Andersen's fairy tales, each of them has a deep meaning with philosophical overtones. After reading them, the child can independently understand morality and draw the right conclusions.

Andersen soon wrote the fairy tales "Thumbelina", "The Little Mermaid" and "The Ugly Duckling", which are still loved by children all over the world.

Later, Hans wrote the novels "Two Baronesses" and "To Be or Not to Be", designed for an adult audience. However, these works went unnoticed, since Andersen was perceived primarily as a children's writer.

by the most popular fairy tales Andersen are considered "The King's New Dress", "The Ugly Duckling", "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "Thumbelina", "The Princess and the Pea", "Ole Lukoye" and "The Snow Queen".

Personal life

Some biographers of Andersen suggest that the great storyteller was not indifferent to male gender. Such conclusions are drawn on the basis of the surviving romantic letters that he wrote to men.

It is worth noting that officially he was never married and had no children. In his diaries, he later admitted that he had decided to give up intimate relationships with women, because they did not reciprocate.

Hans Christian Andersen reading a book to children

In the biography of Hans Andersen, there were at least 3 girls for whom he felt sympathy. Even at a young age, he fell in love with Riborg Voigt, but never dared to confess his feelings to her.

The next beloved of the writer was Louise Collin. She turned down Andersen's proposal and married a wealthy lawyer.

In 1846, there was another passion in Andersen's biography: he fell in love with the opera singer Jenny Lind, who charmed him with her voice.

After her speeches, Hans gave her flowers and recited poetry, trying to achieve reciprocity. However, this time he failed to win a woman's heart.

Soon the singer married a British composer, as a result of which the unfortunate Andersen fell into depression. An interesting fact is that later Jenny Lind will become the prototype of the famous Snow Queen.

Death

At the age of 67, Andersen fell out of bed and received many serious bruises. Over the next 3 years, he suffered from his injuries, but was never able to recover from them.

Hans Christian Andersen died on August 4, 1875 at the age of 70. Great storyteller He was buried in the Assistance Cemetery in Copenhagen.

Andersen's photo

At the end you can see the most famous Andersen. I must say that Hans Christian was not distinguished by an attractive appearance. However, under his clumsy and even ridiculous appearance was an incredibly refined, deep, wise and loving person.

An unsurpassed storyteller of all ages and peoples. But at the same time, his character was very bad. We have collected the most interesting moments from the writer's life.

1.Childhood of Hans

April 2, 1805 in a small town located on one of the Danish islets - Fions, was born Hans Christian Andersen. Grandfather Andersen, old man Anders Hansen, a woodcarver, was considered crazy in the city because he carved strange figures of half-humans - half-animals with wings. Interestingly, from childhood, Andersen was attracted to writing, although he studied poorly at school, and wrote with errors until the end of his life.

2. Friendship with Prince Frits

In Denmark, there is a legend about the royal origin of Andersen. This is because in an early autobiography the author himself wrote about how he played with Prince Frits, later - King Frederick VII, and he had no friends among the street boys. Only the prince. Andersen's friendship with Frits, according to the storyteller's fantasy, continued into adulthood, until the latter's death, and, according to the writer himself, he was the only one, with the exception of relatives, who was admitted to the coffin of the deceased.

3. Diseases and fears

Andersen was tall, thin and round-shouldered. The character of the storyteller was also very unpleasant and disturbing. His whole life was filled with phobias: he was afraid of robberies, dogs, losing his passport; he was afraid to die in a fire, so he always carried a rope with him in order to get out through the window during a fire.

He suffered from toothache all his life, and seriously believed that his fertility as an author depended on the number of teeth in his mouth.

He was afraid of poisoning - when the Scandinavian children chipped in for a gift to their favorite storyteller and sent the world's largest box of chocolates, he refused the gift in horror and sent it to his nieces.

4.Women of the writer

From the above information, it is clear why Hans Christian Andersen was not successful with women - but did not strive for this either. However, in 1840 in Copenhagen, he met a girl named Jenny Lind.

He dedicated poems to her and wrote fairy tales for her. She addressed him exclusively as "brother" or "child", although he was 40, and she was only 26 years old. In 1852 Lind married a young pianist Otto Holschmidt. It is believed that in old age Andersen became even more extravagant: spending a lot of time in brothels, he did not touch the girls who worked there, but simply talked to them.

More recently, a hitherto unknown fairy tale by Andersen called "Tallow Candle". The manuscript was discovered among the papers in the archives of the Danish city of Odense by a local historian. Experts have confirmed the authenticity of the work, which may have been written by a famous storyteller back in school years.

6. Translation of fairy tales was cut

IN Soviet Russia foreign authors were often published in an abridged and revised form. Andersen's fairy tales suffered the same fate, they were published in retelling, and instead of thick collections of his works and fairy tales, thin collections were printed. Works worldwide famous storyteller came out in the performance of Soviet translators, who were forced to any mention of God, quotations from the Bible, reflections on religious themes either soften or remove.

It is believed that Andersen does not have non-religious things at all, it’s just that somewhere it is noticeable to the naked eye, and in some fairy tales the religious overtones are hidden. For example, in the Soviet translation of one of his fairy tales there is a phrase: "Everything was in this house: both prosperity and swaggering gentlemen, but there was no owner in the house." Although the original says: "But it was not in the house of the Lord." And take the "Snow Queen", - says Nina Fedorova, famous translator from German and Scandinavian languages- Do you know that Gerda, when she is scared, prays and reads psalms, which, of course, the Soviet reader did not even suspect.

7.Pushkin's autograph

Andersen was the owner of the autograph Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. It is known that, being a junior contemporary of the great Russian poet, Andersen asked to get Pushkin's autograph for him, which was delivered to him. Andersen carefully kept the 1816 Elegy signed by the poet until the end of his life, and now it is in the collection of the Danish Royal Library.

8. Andersengrad

In 1980, not far from St. Petersburg, in the city Pinery, opened a children's play complex Andersengrad. The opening was timed to the 175th anniversary of the famous storyteller. On the territory of the children's town, stylized as medieval Western European architecture, there are various buildings that belong to Andersen's fairy tales. There is a children's road running throughout the town. In 2008, a monument to the Little Mermaid was erected in the town, and in 2010 - to the Tin Soldier.

9. Children's Book Day

The personalities of many writers hide dozens of mysteries. The most famous Danish storyteller was no exception.

1

Contrary to the stereotype that a storyteller should love his readers, the writer did not like children and he never had his own.

Shortly before his death, a sculptor came to Andersen to show a sketch of a future monument to the writer. According to the author's idea, he was supposed to sit with an open book surrounded by children - they spun on his knees and hung on his shoulders (apparently, this is how the sculptor wanted to show the image good storyteller). Seeing this, Andersen exclaimed indignantly: “Yes, you are crazy! I wouldn't have uttered a word in such an environment!

2

If you count, it turns out that out of 156 works of the author, exactly 56 end with the death of the protagonist. This includes The Little Mermaid, which, according to the master, was the only story that touched him to the core.

3

Andersen's house in Odense, hometown writer.

In Denmark, surnames ending in "sen" indicated a person's low origin. Andersen was always ashamed of his poverty - he even promised one of his lovers to marry when he began to earn a certain amount per year (by the way, he fell in love often throughout his life, but was never married).

4

Andersen believed that he actually came from a royal family - and considered the then King Christian VIII to be his father.

Christian VIII, King of Denmark.

It is curious that the writer, whose conjectures were never taken seriously, at the age of 33, unexpectedly receives a royal scholarship and says goodbye to poverty. “Father has not forgotten about me,” the writer told everyone. He received this allowance annually until his death.

5

It is easier to list the things that Andersen Not was afraid. Dogs, accidental scratches, robbers, toothache, fear of accidentally overpaying a merchant...

One of the monuments to the heroes of Andersen in his homeland, in Odense. Before us, most likely, is a dog from the fairy tale "Flint".

But perhaps the worst nightmare of the writer was the fear of being buried alive - so every evening he left a note on the bedside table with a short message: "I'm alive."

6

Hans Christian was surprisingly illiterate - if spelling was still tolerable, then punctuation was never given to him.

The storyteller constantly hired girls who rewrote his works to the finish - and only then the manuscripts were sent to the publisher.

7

Despite all his phobias, the writer passionately loved to travel - he visited Italy, Spain, Asia and even Africa.

By the standards of that time, he was a very mobile person - in his entire life Andersen traveled to more than two dozen countries.

8

Andersen has a fairy tale with a mention of the scientist Isaac Newton. However, the fairy tale is not about him, but about a pear tree - and it is called " And sometimes happiness is hidden in a sliver".

9

The writer had a well-known habit of wearing a flower in his buttonhole - and it did not appear out of nowhere.

The fact is that in his school years Andersen got it: from teachers for poor progress, from classmates for an unsightly appearance. The only one in the class who thought he was cute was the girl Sarah - according to legend, she gave him white rose, and the writer was so imbued with gratitude to her that he forever retained the habit of wearing a flower near his heart.